The right tools are an integral part of getting any job done. In the world of digital content tools are plentiful, so finding the right one for you can be tricky. That's why we ask the experts what tools they use to get their jobs done. In this month's installment, we talk to Ashley Taylor Anderson, Director of Content, Ceros.

STN International and FIZ Karlsruhe Announce LISA

STN International, an online service for sci-tech information, and FIZ Karlsruhe have announced LISA, a new database for library and information science. LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts) produced by Cambridge Scientific Abstracts is an international abstracting and indexing tool designed for library professionals and other information specialists. It covers a variety of subjects from librarianship and information science, including artificial intelligence, computer science applications, information and knowledge management, internet technology, telecommunications, and library management. Citations contain bibliographic information, controlled vocabulary, and an abstract. Titles are available in original language and English translation. Sources for LISA are 450 periodicals from more than 68 countries and in more than 20 different languages. The file currently contains over 264,000 records from 1969 to date and is updated twice a month.

All information can be accessed through STN's search functions. Only results matching all predefined criteria are retrieved. Simultaneous left and right truncation (searches using the root of a word, with prefixes and/or suffixes substituted by question marks) is possible in the basic index field. Regular automatic current-awareness-searches (SDIs) are also available. At each database update the system checks if any new answers have been added that match a user's saved search profile. Where such matches are found, the answers are then forwarded to the user.

Full-text publications on the searched subjects can be ordered online, using the STN Full-Text-Solution providing connections to various document delivery services, or through FIZ Karlsruhe's document delivery broker service FIZ AutoDoc. Information in LISA and the other more than 220 databases hosted on STN International can be accessed by dialing in to STN's online service using its proprietary client software, "STN Express with Discover!" (now available in version 7.01), or over the Internet using a standard Web browser. At a later time, LISA may also be available in STN Easy.(www.fiz-karlsruhe.de; www.stn-international.de)